A late surge gave Jackson County’s wrestling team a top-10 finish to polish off one of its best seasons in program history.

The Panthers — following a second-place showing at the state duals on January — placed ninth in Class AAA at the traditional state meet on the strength of third-place finishes from Luke Gonzalez (120), Chandler Saine (132) and Connor Crump (145).

“Sometimes coming off a hard loss in the semis, a disappointing loss in the semis, it’s hard to get motivated to come back and fight again,” coach Jason Powers said. “I thought all three of them did a fantastic job of doing that.”

Jackson County finished with 58 points.

Gonzalez won two overtime matches en route to his third-place finish, avenging losses to two wrestlers he’d faced earlier this year. Crump grabbed two wins in controlling fashion, while Saine “had a fantastic tournament” despite suffering a tough loss in the semifinals.

Gonzalez and Crump closed their careers with two-straight wins.

“They both have had excellent careers and are going to do great things with their lives,” Powers said. “I have enjoyed the journey with them over the last four years watching them grow as wrestlers but more importantly individuals. They will both be truly missed on and off the mat.”

Powers was also proud of the wrestlers who didn’t quite make the podium, saying that contending in the state tournament “is not a small feat.”

He said Noah Breakspear had “an amazing season,” falling just shy of the placement round in the 220-pound bracket, as did Jacob Love in the 126-pound bracket.

Powers said he’ll look back on this season as one of the best the program has ever produced. The team’s runner-up finish at the state duals ranks as the best in school history, and despite a lineup with numerous first-year starters, Jackson County earned yet another top-10 showing at the traditional tournament with three high placers.

“Looking at it from start to finish, it was a fantastic job of the kids coming together as a team, performing as a team,” Powers said.
Now the focus is on enjoying team and individual success equally in the same year.

“Those are two totally different tasks,” Powers said. “So next year, we’re hoping we can put together the entire package.”

As for next year, Jefferson, Oconee County and Elbert County will move out of Jackson County’s area and classification, and near-by foe Banks County will move out of the classification. All four of those schools placed in the top 10 in Class AAA this year.

There has been talk of some classifications combining for wrestling next year, but if AAA remains a stand-alone classification, Jackson County will have to contend with Morgan County and Franklin County in 8-AAA, which Powers said makes for a tough area. At the state level, powers like Bremen, Lovett, North Hall and Greater Atlanta Christian will join the mix.

“When you start looking at anything on the state scale, you’re never going to say, hey, this is going to be easy,” Powers said. “It’s always going to be a challenge. I think we’re up for the challenge. I think we’re excited.”

Powers said his program must maintain the mindset that worked so well this year: focusing on the day-to-day process.

“How can we improve our weaknesses? How can we take our strengths and push them to the next level? That’s going to be the challenge,” he said.

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